Nature Notes
Why do rattlesnakes rattle and hummingbirds hum?
How do flowers market themselves to pollinators?
Why do tarantulas cross the road?
Nature Notes investigates questions like these about the natural world of the Chihuahuan Desert region and the Llano Estacado. Through interviews with scientists and field recordings, this Marfa Public Radio original series reveals the secrets of desert life.
Join host Dallas Baxter for new episodes on each week on Thursdays. Episodes are written and produced by Andrew Stuart and edited by Marfa Public Radio and the Sibley Nature Center in Midland, Texas.
Nature Notes is supported by Shield-Ayres Foundation.
Latest Episodes
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Rock rattlers are small, rarely exceeding 2 ½ feet. Their coloration reflects their environment. Rock rattlers in limestone landscapes are typically light grey, while those found in the Davis Mountain are often pink. -
Alpha-gal Syndrome is a potentially dangerous allergy to red meat, and it’s transmitted by the lone star tick. The tick gets its name not from our state, but from the single white spot found on the backs of females. -
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The American West is slowly being torn apart by tectonic forces. One element of this “extension” is the Rio Grande Rift, a growing rip in the continent, traced by the river itself, from Colorado to Big Bend. -
The Trump administration’s planned 30-foot-high border wall, stretching more than 160 miles from Hudspeth County to the western boundary of Big Bend Ranch State Park, will impact a landscape as wild as any in Texas, with profound impacts for both desert wildlife and desert science. -
How will the Trump administration’s new border-infrastructure projects impact these bears? Scientists at Alpine’s Borderlands Research Institute, or BRI, are seeking answers to this timely question. -
In the coming months, the Trump administration’s construction of border barriers could impact hundreds, even thousands, of archeological sites in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands, where the Pecos River and Devils River join the Rio Grande -
The Trump administration’s plans for an unprecedented expansion of border-policing infrastructure in Big Bend have also triggered an ambitious scientific initiative. The Big Bend Borderlands BioBlitz aims to document the biodiversity here before it’s damaged or destroyed. -
Alpine geologist Jesse Kelsch is seeking insight into the groundwater that sustains the San Solomon Springs as part of her broader research into the region’s aquifers. -
August 5th to 7th, the Trans-Pecos Wildlife Conference will bring together landowners and scientists – to explore practical solutions for sustaining our region’s wild creatures.
